Women's Hockey | 4/13/2017 6:59:00 PM

CALGARY, Alta. – Two members of the McGill University women's hockey team -- Olivia Atkinson and Tricia Deguire -- are among 33 development players invited by Hockey Canada to a strength and conditioning camp for the Canadian national women's program, May 3-7 in Hamilton, Ont.

The group features 25 players from NCAA programs and five from U SPORTS, a national governing body formerly known as the CIS. Also among the developmental invitees is one player apiece from the Pacific Women's Hockey League, the Canadian Sport School Hockey League and the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League.

The other Canadian university players joining Atkinson and Deguire include defenceman Abigail Benning of the Alberta Pandas and two players from UBC -- goaltender Amelia Boughn and rearguard Mairead Bast (unable to attend).

An additional 50 under-18 women are also slated to attend the camp.

Atkinson, a 20-year-old psychology and economics sophomore from Toronto, led the McGill Martlets with a career-high 26 goals and amassed 47 points in 42 contests. She registered a pair of hat-tricks, eight game-winners, seven power-play markers and one shorthanded effort. It was a marked improvement from her freshman campaign, where she tallied seven goals and 15 points in 40 outings.

Deguire, a 19-year-old freshman from Sherbrooke, Que., was named as the nation's rookie of the year and made the RSEQ and U SPORTS all-rookie squads. She started in 40 of McGill's 42 games overall and registered a 27-11 record with eight shutouts, a 1.58 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

As Hockey Canada prepares for Olympic centralization, the targeted group of 33 development team players -- born between 1996 and 1999 -- were invited to the camp, which will focus entirely on off-ice sessions, including dryland training, fitness-testing, and physical and mental preparation. This represents the initial step in the selection process for the 2017-18 season. The goal is to review the commitment expected on a daily basis for a high performance athlete and to start a personalized, four-year plan for each athlete.

"Our strength and conditioning camp is an opportunity for us to further assess players we've targeted for the national team program, and this year, is a kick-off of our planning for the next quadrennial as we look to build the athlete pipeline to 2022 and beyond," said Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada's general manager of national women's team programs. "The camp also plays an important role for the players who are given a much clearer picture of the expectations of a national team athlete, and a personalized pathway to give them the best opportunity to continue to be part of the national team program."

Throughout the past season, Davidson and her staff of regional scouts have been following the progress of the under-18 players with their club teams as well as tournaments and championships. The scouts include Dwayne Gylywoychuk (Manitoba), Brian Hart (Ontario), Greg Hermiston (B.C.), Chris Higgins (Ontario), Scott Lambton (Quebec), Rod Larsen (Saskatchewan), Doug Macleod (Alberta), Troy Ryan (Atlantic), and Gary Soper (Ontario).

 

2017 HOCKEY CANADA WOMEN'S SUMMER STRENGTH & CONDITIONING CAMP ROSTER
NAME	BORN	HOMETOWN	2016-17 TEAM (Conference)	AFFILIATION
Goaltenders (6)
Marlène Boissonnault	6/19/1997	Dundee, N.B.	Cornell University (ECAC)	NCAA
Amelia Boughn	4/3/1996	Toronto, Ont.	University of British Columbia (CWUAA)	U SPORTS
Tricia Deguire	9/14/1997	Sherbrooke, Que.	McGill University (RSEQ)	U SPORTS
Carly Jackson	6/23/1997	Amherst, N.S.	University of Maine (HE)	NCAA
Stephanie Neatby	9/17/1998	Toronto, Ont.	Princeton University (ECAC)	NCAA
Kassidy Sauve	5/19/1996	Whitby, Ont.	Ohio State University (WCHA)	NCAA
Defence (9)
Abigail Benning	2/10/1997	St. Albert, Alta.	University of Alberta (CWUAA)	U SPORTS
Jaime Bourbonnais	9/9/1998	Mississauga, Ont.	Cornell University (ECAC)	NCAA
Codie Cross	2/22/1998	Airdrie, Alta.	Northeastern University (ECAC)	NCAA
Jess Healey	10/14/1996	Edmonton, Alta.	University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)	NCAA
Allie Munroe	4/20/1997	Yarmouth, N.S.	Syracuse University (HE)	NCAA
Josiane Pozzebon	3/25/1997	Bourget, Ont.	Clarkson University (ECAC)	NCAA
Ella Shelton	1/19/1998	Ingersol, Ont.	Clarkson University (ECAC)	NCAA
Abagael Thiessen	5/26/1998	Red Deer, Alta.	University of North Dakota (WCHA)	NCAA
Kaitlin Tse	6/25/1997	Toronto, Ont.	Harvard University (ECAC)	NCAA
Forwards (15)
Lindsay Agnew	3/9/1998	Oakville, Ont.	University of Minnesota (WCHA)	NCAA
Olivia Atkinson	1/6/1997	Oakville, Ont.	McGill University (RSEQ)	U SPORTS
Victoria Bach	7/12/1996	Milton, Ont.	Boston University (HE)	NCAA
Ashton Bell	12/7/1999	Deloraine, Man.	Westman (MFMHL)	MFMHL
Loren Gabel	7/24/1997	Kitchener, Ont.	Clarkson University (ECAC)	NCAA
Ryleigh Houston	9/14/1998	Winnipeg, Man.	University of North Dakota (WCHA)	NCAA
Maggie Knott	3/14/1998	Smiths Falls, Ont.	Mercyhurst University (WCHA)	NCAA
Rebecca Leslie	5/8/1996	Ottawa, Ont.	Boston University (HE)	NCAA
Emma Maltais	11/4/1999	Burlington, Ont.	Oakville (PWHL)	PWHL
Hannah Miller	2/16/1996	North Vancouver, B.C.	St. Lawrence University (ECAC)	NCAA
Kristin O'Neill	3/30/1998	Oakville, Ont.	Cornell University (ECAC)	NCAA
Ève-Audrey Picard	2/16/1996	Longueuil, Que.	University of Vermont (HE)	NCAA
Christina Putigna	10/16/1997	Hamilton, Ont.	Providence College (HE)	NCAA
Sophie Shirley	6/30/1999	Saskatoon, Sask.	Okanagan Hockey Academy (CSSHL)	CSSHL
Brooke Stacey	6/28/1996	Kahnawake, Que.	University of Maine (HE)	NCAA
UNABLE TO ATTEND
Goaltenders
Shea Tiley	12/2/1996	Shallow Lake, Ont.	Clarkson University (ECAC)	NCAA
Defence
Mairead Bast	7/16/1998	Red Deer, Alta.	University of British Columbia (CWUAA)	U SPORTS
Forwards
Karly Heffernan	2/6/1996	Sherwood Park, Alta.	Harvard University (ECAC)	NCAA